It was a tight squeeze getting through the bends of treatment room corridor, but the largest pieces of the linear accelerator puzzle are now in place at the BC Cancer Centre for the North.
It was a proud day Wednesday for Hal Collier, chief project manager for the Northern Cancer Control Strategy, knowing a state-of-the-art component is now in place which, for the first time ever, will allow cancer patients to receive radiation treatments in Prince George once the facility opens later this year.
The $4 million accelerator, when operational, will allow clinicians to more accurately target tumours and deliver more precise beams of radiation in higher doses than what was possible with older technology.
Made in Palo Alto by Varian Medical Systems, the accelerator arm pivots and the patient bed rotates to allow alignment of the radiation beam at any angle. The TrueBeam technology delivers more intense doses of radiation, so less time will be required for each treatment. Imaging tools allow the machine operator to see the tumour before and during treatment, and can be timed between each breath of the patient, increasing accuracy to make treatments safer with less risk of adverse side effects.
Each accelerator will be capable of treating 10-12 patients per day.
The second linear accelerator is scheduled to be installed at the still-under-construction cancer centre next week.
See Thursday's Citizen for more
